Chennai, Sep 2024

Last year Moscow welcomed 60,000 travelles from India, a 25% increase compared to the previous year. Business has become one of the most popular travel purposes for tourists from various regions of India. 

The Moscow City Tourism Committee is a mediator between the capital’s stakeholders and foreign market players, constantly expanding the geography of cooperation. And so, on August 27, a business mission was held in the south of India, in the city of Chennai, where the Russian side presented the tourism and MICE potential of Moscow. 

“Every fifth tourist from India comes for business purposes — these travelers are distinguished by a large average check, a gourmet love for the variety of Moscow restaurants, an appreciation for the event opportunities and the high level of service in the capital,” said Evgeny Kozlov, Chairman of the Committee on Tourism of the city of Moscow. “This market is a high-priority one, as the tourist flow from this region continues to grow.”

“In India, Moscow is well known as a destination for organizing business events, we do not have to start at square one with our Indian colleagues,” says Maya Anurova, Head of Business Tourism Development Department, the Moscow City Tourism Committee. — The scale of the Indian tourism market should not be underestimated. Chennai is a large city in southern India, where key branches of international and local companies and potential customers of business events are located. It was important for us to present to our partners in this region the variety of programs and the rich cultural entertainment opportunities that Moscow is able to offer to work through any existing barriers and to amaze with new facts about the capital of Russia.”

After the presentation of the Moscow City Tourism Committee and the Q&A session, Indian tour operators held B2B meetings with their Russian counterparts. The participants of the business mission are convinced that fruitful networking will lead to an increase in the flow of tourists from south India to Moscow and vice versa in the near future.

“Moscow is an amazing and absolutely unique tourist destination,” says Oksana Lokteva, Financial Director of GrandRus Tours. — It can offer a variety and action-packed program to a tourist on any budget, with any goals , at all seasons of the year. India has already formed a great interest in Russia, but it is important to talk about Moscow’s potential to colleagues in a professional setting, as we did at the business mission in Chennai. From my experience in other Indian cities, I can say that after such meetings there is a noticeable increase in the flow of tourists.”

Oksana Lokteva of the tourism industry is certain that the number of people wishing to visit Moscow may be twice as big. Oksana believes, if air traffic increases in the next three years, the tourist flow from India can grow up to 500 thousand and even up to 1 million people due to Moscow’s air links with Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta.

“The Indian airline IndiGo is interested in launching flights to Russia, and the Russian side has managed to hold preliminary talks with the airline right at the event in Chennai”, said Inna Beltyukova, founder of the Inna Tour travel company. “Partners from India are more often interested in individual tours to Russia and MICE events”, Beltyukova said. A lot of tourists from India travel to Russia for cultural and historical landmarks, for the connection the two countries have and the desire to experience the culture. Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the Golden Ring are top tourist destinations, but the capital also covers other needs of Indian guests: business tourism and education in Russian universities.

Participants of the business mission believe that the potential of the Indian market for Moscow is huge. The historical friendly relations between the two countries and the cooperation of the Moscow government in the development of these relations are now, more than ever, conducive to the growth of tourist flow. Fruitful joint work during the business mission in Chennai will allow new Indian operators to include Moscow in their portfolio and pitch it to their customers as a unique destination for business and educational tourism.

India is traditionally among the top countries in terms of the number of tourists who visit Moscow. Business visits remain one of the most popular travel destinations for Indian travelers. In 2023, 3.7 million business tourists visited the capital, which is 7% more than the year before.

India also has been a leader in Moscow’s business tourist flow among non-CIS countries for several years now, and the city is continuously working to motivate representatives of the Indian tourism industry to choose the Russian capital as a MICE destination for its customers. For example, in 2023, the Moscow City Tourism Committee launched the Moscow MICE Ambassadors training and accreditation program for representatives of the Indian tourism industry, and this year the program has been significantly improved to offer participants a variety of tips for creating the best stay programs tailored to the needs of Indian corporate clients.

In April 2024, the Moscow City Tourism Committee organised the Shaping MICE Future conference in Delhi, bringing together over 100 representatives from the MICE industry in India and Moscow. The event featured panel discussions and thematic sessions, offering the Indian MICE stakeholders insights into the benefits of organising business events in Moscow and pitching opportunities for effective co-operation.